10 Rushed Movie Deaths That Had No Emotional Impact

It would not be surprising if you had forgotten this character’s name entirely. Robin Wright, despite being an immensely talented actress, gets very little to work with in Wonder Woman. Her role as Diana’s mentor, a war general of ruthless aggression and tactical mastery, is made extremely clear by the film’s opening act. The character’s relationship to Diana is established (through the screenplay at least) and her importance to the Island is conveyed as irreplaceable.

The issue around emotional involvement stems from her death itself. In a differently handled sequence, it’s very possible that Antiope’s death could convey genuine emotional distress on behalf of the viewer. However, the first battle we see involves this experienced war general slaughtered relatively easily on a beach, after only a couple minutes of fighting against a force with insubstantial numbers.

She dies not because of betrayal, or being overwhelmed, or taken aback by an arrow during a moment of letting her guard down, but randomly and erratically for no other reason than narrative progression. It goes against the character traits we’ve been introduced to and the actual death itself lacks any real tangible emotion.

Gadot and Wright are both trying their best but they haven’t got the necessary dynamic to really cement the emotional crescendo, and the lack of presence that Antiope’s memory has on Diana following her death says something about her importance. Wonder Woman is clearly aspiring to classical tropes within all sorts of hero’s journeys but it lacks the necessary depth and emotion to make this element satisfy.